(02 March 2017) – Eurostat estimates that 19.969 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 15.620 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2017. Compared with January 2016, unemployment fell by 1.733 million in the EU28 and by 1.101 million in the euro area.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates in January 2017 were recorded in the Czech Republic (3.4%) and Germany (3.8%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (23.0% in November 2016) and Spain (18.2%).
Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in January 2017 fell in twenty-five Member States, while it increased in Cyprus (from 13.1% to 14.1%), Italy (from 11.6% to 11.9%) and Denmark (from 6.0% to 6.2%).
The largest decreases were registered in Croatia (from 14.8% to 11.3%), Spain (from 20.6% to 18.2%), Hungary (from 6.2% to 4.3% between December 2015 and December 2016), Portugal (from 12.1% to 10.2%), Slovakia (from 10.4% to 8.6%) and Ireland (from 8.5% to 6.7%).